1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to covers for covering the top of compressed collections of fibrous material such as cotton modules.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is now common practice in many cotton producing areas to compress freshly picked cotton into cotton modules and to leave such cotton modules in the field where the cotton was picked until it is time to transport the cotton to a cotton gin for further processing.
More specifically, cotton is typically picked using a mechanical cotton picker, and then dumped directly into the opened top of a mechanical cotton compacting unit for forming a tightly compacted cotton module. While the shape and size of such cotton modules may vary, they typically have a substantially rectangular base about 32 feet (9.7 meters) long and 7 feet (2.1 meters) wide, with a height of about 7.5 feet (2.25 meters). The sides and ends of most cotton modules slope slightly inwardly to give cotton modules a slight trapezoid shape.
Since a cotton module may be left in the field for many weeks before it is picked up and transported to a cotton gin, it is usually desirable to cover the cotton module with waterproof or water-resistant fabric or the like to at least partially protect the cotton module from the wind and rain, etc. Flat, waterproof tarpaulins have been used in the past to cover and protect cotton modules. Such tarpaulins are typically secured to the cotton modules with spikes, ropes, weights, or the like.
Kandarian, U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,385, issued Sep. 3, 1985, discloses a protective cover for a cotton module comprising a water repellent cap portion adapted to fit about the top of the module, an air permeable skirt portion connected to and depending from the cap portion and adapted to encircle the mid-portion of the module; and a belt fastened about the perimeter of the skirt portion for securing the cover about the module without intrusion into the module surface, the belt having D-rings on one end and a tongue on the other end to allow the belt to be cinched about the module.
Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,363, issued Sep. 26, 1989, discloses a combination cotton module cover and catenary hold down comprising a horizontal waterproof top sheet for covering the top of the cotton module; flexible side wall sheets secured to the top sheet to partially overlay the side walls of the module, the side wall sheets having a generally horizontal bottom edge; at least three loops secured to the bottom edge of each side wall and extending downwardly from the bottom edge of each side wall, at least one loop located near the center of each side wall being shorter than the other loops; and a cord passing through the loops and about the cotton module to secure the cover to the module, the cord coacting with the loops to form a catenary curve along the side walls of the cotton module.
Nothing in the above prior art discloses or suggests the present invention. More specifically, nothing in the above prior art discloses or suggests the combination of a compressed module of fibrous material and a cover comprising a cap including a top member covering the top of the module, a first side wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a portion of a first side wall of the module, a second side wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a portion of a second side wall of the module, a first end wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a portion of a first end wall of the module, and a second end wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a portion of a second end wall of the module; a first hanger member secured to the first side wall member of the cap at a point slightly below the top member of the cap; a second hanger member secured to the first side wall member of the cap at a point slightly below the top member of the cap and spaced from the first hanger member; a third hanger member secured to the second side wall member of the cap at a point slightly below the top member of the cap; a fourth hanger member secured to the second side wall member of the cap at a point slightly below the top member of the cap and spaced from the third hanger member; and strap means extending through the first and second hanger member, through the third and fourth hanger members, and around the first and second end walls of the module at a spaced distance below the hanger members; the strap means extending parallel to the top of the module between the first and second hanger members and between the third and fourth hanger members, extending along a straight, downwardly angled line between the first hanger member and the first end wall of the module, extending along a straight, downwardly angled line between the second hanger member and the second end wall of the module, extending along a straight, downwardly angled line between the third hanger member and the second end wall of the module, and extending along a straight, downwardly angled line between the fourth hanger member and the first end wall of the module.